July 2012

July 28, 2012

"Our program is tailored for the U.S. television audience. It’s a credit to [London Olympics opening ceremony producer] Danny Boyle that it required so little editing,” an NBC Sports spokesperson smarmily responded to critics of the network's cutting out — for their American audience — a tribute to the London terrorism victims of 2005 ("Abide with me" above).

Which is more likely to encourage U.S.viewers to stick around for your feel-good TV show: chit-chat between mega-celebs Ryan Seacrest and Michael Phelps or a tribute to victims of an overseas terrorist attack that happened seven years ago?

"An overseas terrorist attack that happened seven years ago"? How yesterday is that? Not to mention the International Olympic Committee's decision to bow in dhimmitude to our Islamist masters and pretend the first shot across our bow back in ancient history — the horrific Munich massacre of 1972 — never happened.

We're obviously not CBS Sports' target audience — much less an acolyte of the Church of See No Evil, Hear No Evil, Speak No Evil of Islam — but thanks to Mediaite we've got the story:

During the portion of the performance that was not broadcast in the U.S., the BBC announcer asks the audience to observe a moment of silence. “The excitement of that moment in Singapore seven years ago when England won the games was tempered the next day with sorrow from the events of July 7th that year,” says the BBC announcer. “A wall of remembrance for those no longer here to share in this event.”

The poignant "Abide with me," sung by Emeli Sande in the Olympic tribute, is a Christian hymn by Scottish Anglican Henry Francis Lyte, most often sung to William Henry Monk's tune "Eventide":